


Shining Dawn

by Dusklatte



Series: The Skies Above [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Babysitting, Background Linhardt/Annette, Background Relationships, Birthday, Childhood, Claude should not be allowed to make deals with 2 month old babies, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Family Fluff, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, First Steps, First Words, Fluff, New parents who are semi-clueless (looking at you Byleth-), Overprotective Parents, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pregnancy, because their ending together is perfect for this fic, lots of firsts!, yet he does anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2020-11-27 20:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20954342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusklatte/pseuds/Dusklatte
Summary: Byleth and Claude have a daughter together, and they want to do everything in the power to make her childhood as normal as they can. A difficult task - more difficult than anything they've been through in the past. But they know for a fact they're going to do their best.





	1. Rest is required

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, I've been writing this during my breaks and at lunch at work... I've been a bit tired and unable to focus in the evenings recently. I'm awake enough now to post~!
> 
> So, this is a follow-up to some of my other fics in this series, and will be the last one! This surrounds Byleth and Claude as they bring up their daughter, Esther, who was born at the end of the previous fic. This first chapter is when she's just over 2 months old, at about the start of March/Lone Moon.

Byleth and Claude were tired. It was noticeable to all in Garreg Mach, seeming as they were temporarily taking up residence there. Everyone assumed it was because of their baby daughter, who was barely just two months old. That she would cry through the night, not giving them much chance to rest between her feeds and changes.

This was far from the case.

Esther von Riegan was a delightful child. She would giggle and smile at anyone, and would sleep when put down to rest. She did sometimes cry – a relief to Byleth, knowing that she would not be a similar child to herself- but only when held by her father as he sung an Almyran lullaby, would she calm down.

No, Byleth and Claude were tired due to the impending re-opening of the Officer’s Academy. Some of the students had already arrived – notably the ones from the first ever cohort from Almyra – and were getting settled in to the dormitories. It felt strange seeing rooms once belonging to the class of year 1180 being taken by the class of 1190.

As part of the re-opening, the classrooms had needed refurbishing. Weak wooden desks and benches were broken down for firewood, and replaced with sturdier furniture. Flags of both Fódlan and Almyra adorned the walls. Books were replaced where necessary, and new stationery supplied.

It may have seemed like they didn’t have to do much based on that alone, but a lot had been going on in the background.

There was the recruitment of new professors – Hanneman was off doing his crest research somewhere, whilst Manuela had started her own school elsewhere in Fódlan – which took a long time… Soon enough, however, the roles had been fulfilled. Lysithea, Linhardt and Annette took up roles as the professors for each class. Leonie proudly took position as training instructor. Seteth had been asked to act as headmaster, whilst Flayn decided she would help out in the infirmary.

Then there was finalising the list of students. As had been decided previously, students would not enter based on status or money. They would earn a place through examination – both a mental examination to test their strategic and general knowledge, and a physical one where they would demonstrate ability with a weapon or magic of their choice. After that, they would be scored. Those with a good enough score would earn a place in the Officer’s Academy, whilst the others would be assisted in applying for other schools so they don’t miss out on any opportunities.

Fortunately though, the work which the royals needed to participate in had come to an end. All they needed to do now was rest until the opening day. A welcome relief for both king and queen.

“Is the bed that comfortable, Claude?” One of the first things Claude had done upon realising that his schedule was clear was lie down in bed. Byleth, meanwhile, was sat on a plush seat beside Esther’s cradle, watching over the sleeping baby with a smile on her face. “I would join you, but... She’s far too precious to be left alone...”

“Mm, the bed would be more comfortable with you next to me, I'll admit. And are you so certain about watching over her like that? A few moments rest will be good for you, and it’s not like anyone would try to abduct her...”

“That’s exactly what I fear, Claude... You know there’s still people who don’t wish well upon us, and would do anything to watch us crumble. Even here in Garreg Mach, where you assume things would be safe...” Byleth trailed off as Esther stirred, her tiny hands stretching out for the toy deer which lay beside her. “... Things do happen... You remember what happened to Flayn, right?”

Claude sighed as he sat up. “That was ten years ago, and those who kidnapped Flayn were wiped out five years ago. And since then, security has been stepped up... Byleth, there isn’t any need to worry. Join me, even if it’s only for a few minutes.” He patted the empty space beside him, a pleading look on his face. Byleth had never been able to resist that expression in the past, and now was no different. She gave Esther another quick glance, before standing up to approach the bed.

Byleth reluctantly sank down onto the bed next to Claude, letting her head fall into his chest. “... Am I being too overprotective...?” She leaned further into him as he embraced her, and ran his one of his hands through her hair.

“Well, she’s only just over two months old. And we’re new parents in unfortunately high positions in society... There is no harm in wanting her to be safe, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of our sanity.” Claude pressed a kiss to the top of Byleth’s head, and squeezed her slightly. “Please relax, Byleth...”

After that, the couple remained in silence as they lay down in an embrace on the bed. Claude had started humming after a while, unaware of the impact it would have on his wife. Her light breathing had caught his attention, and he let out a breath he never knew he was holding once he knew she was finally relaxed and asleep.

He also wanted to sleep, but found it more difficult than Byleth had. Ten years ago, he was the type of person who would sleep late and rise early – his schemes would often formulate in the early or late hours of the day. As time went on, however, and more responsibilities fell onto his shoulders, sleep became difficult. His nights would drag on, and the times he managed to sleep resulted in fitful dreams which Byleth would have to snap him out of. He preferred taking quick naps often now, over a solid night of sleep.

Claude slowly pulled his arm out from under Byleth as he got out of the bed. After hearing Byleth’s previous concerns, he couldn’t help but worry for his little girl. He had tried to comfort Byleth, and give her no reason to worry... but honestly, he shared her fears. The fact that neither of them had what would be called a ‘normal’ childhood added to the worry.

Silently, he went over to Esther’s cradle, and was surprised to be met with a pair of minty-green eyes looking up at him. That was one of the few things she had taken from Byleth (and though his eyes were green also, he insisted that mint green and emerald green were _very _different colours despite her saying that they were ‘just green'). Aside from that, their daughter appeared very much like him. Even down to skin-tone and hair colour. He knew that may possibly change as she grew older, but he didn’t care. His daughter would look beautiful to him no matter what she looked like.

With a thin smile on his face, he reached down to the girl and picked her up. She made a few excited noises as she gave him a toothless smile. “Hey there, Esther...” He positioned his arms exactly as he had been taught by his own mother, so as not to cause any harm to the baby. “You’re barely two months old, and already you’re driving your mother crazy.” He paused for a moment. “You should be asleep right now, it’s not feeding time yet... How about I sing you your favourite song, then we will both get some sleep. Deal?”

He held his finger in front of Esther, and as expected, she grabbed at it. He grinned and moved it up and down, mimicking a handshake. “Deal. Now, the song...”

  


* * *

* * *

  


Lysithea was annoyed. She had met up with Linhardt and Annette in advance of the new Officer’s Academy opening, to discuss lessons and future plans. She had tried to keep the topics reined in, so that it was over with sooner rather than later, but Linhardt had other ideas.

Constantly he would try to ask her about the crests which she used to possess, and question how she learned to remove them. Annette would sigh, and beg for him to stop, whilst apologising to Lysithea. He did eventually stop, albeit so he could nap until ‘things became interesting’. As he slept, the pair questioned just _how _he could be asked to be a professor, and Lysithea decided to take it one step further, and question Seteth as to why.

He simply said to ask Byleth and Claude, for they had been the ones who did the recruiting.

She had made a beeline to their room, and initially called for them through the door. There was no answer, so she instead knocked. No answer again, however, she noticed that the door was unlocked.

“Oh for goodness’ sake, I’m going to come in!” Lysithea took hold of the handle, and pushed the door open. She was about to start telling off the king and queen for not responding as she straight away saw Claude sat on a chair, but she stopped when she noticed that they weren’t even awake.

Byleth looked as though she had well and truly crashed out on the bed, whilst Claude was sprawled out on the chair he was sat on, his arm hanging over Esther’s cradle, where the child slept.

“Oh, for the love of-! I'll have to come back later...”


	2. In trusted hands (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude and Byleth have a situation at the border where their presence is needed, and they have no choice but to leave Esther behind. They reluctantly leave her in the care of Flayn...
> 
> Unfortunately, Flayn had no clue on how to look after a child properly.

As the weeks went by, Byleth and Claude had to begin falling back into their duties as king and queen of Fódlan and Almyra. They alternated days of working however – they did trust their staff and allies, but they wanted to be the ones who cared for Esther. They hated the thought of leaving their little girl in the hands and whims of others.

As it neared the end of the Harpstring Moon, when Esther had reached six months old, they were frustratingly left with no other option but to have someone babysit for a few days. Trouble was brewing at Fódlan's Throat which was being dealt with on Almyra's side by Claude’s parents, and by Hilda on Fódlan’s side, but the people causing trouble had demanded the presence of the King and Queen before they would calm down. They knew it was suspicious and could easily enough be some form of distraction or assassination plot, so they pulled together a group of knights to go with them. For the first time in over a year, the Sword of the Creator and Failnaught were brought out of their storage too.

They were determined to return to their daughter alive.

Flayn was the one who took on the duty of caring for Esther, as she was one of the few people at Garreg Mach without many tasks for the next few days.

The girl had never looked after a baby before. She had panicked slightly when Byleth had pulled her aside to ask for help, but was relieved when she found out that both her and Claude had written instructions on what to do in almost any given scenario. There were two instructions in large, bolded letters – to not take her out of Garreg Mach, and to keep an eye on her.

Sadness filled Flayn as Byleth and Claude said bye to Esther, followed by the girl crying once she realised that her parents had gone. She had seen Claude singing to her in Almyran before to stop her from crying, but Flayn didn’t know the language... or any songs to sing, for that matter.

“Shh... Shush, little one... Your mother and father will be back soon...” Flayn kept hold of the sobbing girl, bouncing her in her arms slightly as she had seen Byleth do many times in the past. “Auntie Flayn will look after you for now...”

The crying didn’t stop.

Flayn decided to see if taking Esther to the fishing pond would help in calming her down. Whenever she had been teary, Seteth had taken her there (or at least somewhere similar) to calm down. Perhaps Esther would be the same as her...?

Upon reaching the area, Flayn sat down near the water, but not close enough that Esther could fall in. The girl quietened down for a few moments, having saw her reflection in the water and it catching her attention. She waved her hands for a moment, before her face scrunched up and she made a few quiet noises. The tears quickly returned after that.

Flayn was flabbergasted.

_Who wouldn’t enjoy a visit to the pond?! _

With a huff, she stood up with Esther, before looking for another place to go. She looked towards the dining hall which was starting to cast a shadow upon the pond, before gasping. “Are you hungry? Let’s go get you some food...” She made her way up the stairs, before hearing a quiet sing-song voice through the windows and door.

“Oh, marking tests makes my arm numb numb numb~… Time for Mercie’s treats for my tum tum tum~...”

Flayn used her back to push the doors open seeming as she was using both arms to hold onto Esther, before peering around for the singer. Esther wailed even louder as the door slammed shut behind them. It also stopped the singing, and a familiar figure emerged from near the pantry and stoves.

“What was-?! Oh, Flayn… It’s only you...” Annette had been the person singing, and she had a box of treats which had been sent to Garreg Mach by Mercedes in her arms. “And… You have the Professor and Claude’s daughter! Have they left already? Oh no, I was meant to talk to them about something...”

“Good morning, Annette...” Flayn sighed as Esther continued crying, her head starting to throb somewhat due to the constant noise. “I assume you aren’t teaching today, if you’re here at this time?”

Annette shook her head. “I do have to teach, but the students are with Leonie in the training grounds. I just finished marking some tests and decided to get some treats after...” She then paused, before gasping. “Oh no, you- You didn’t hear me singing, did you?!”

Flayn laughed quietly, and nodded. “Yes, I did… I was coming here to see if there is anything for the princess to eat as she hasn’t stopped crying since her parents left...”

With a quiet hum, Annette crouched down and looked at Esther as she squirmed in Flayn’s arms. “I have a feeling that she isn’t hungry… But misses her parents. Maybe taking her to their room would be a good idea? Maybe she will calm down in there, as she’s likely familiar with that environment and the smells of her parents… I mean, Claude does use some strange yet nice smelling cologne from Almyra, and there’s probably some of that in the room...”

“Ah! Brilliant idea, I shall take Esther there immediately! I give you my thanks, Annette,” Flayn smiled, before quickly making her presence scarce. Annette was left stood in the room with the treats, a bit unsure of what to do. However, the chimes indicating the new hour and a new lesson made her gasp, hastily take a few treats, and run back to her classroom.

  


* * *

* * *

  


Byleth’s face was completely void of emotion. It had been many years since Claude had seen her in such a state, and in all honesty, it scared him. He feared that all it could take is a few days apart from the light of their lives, their precious little daughter, before she reverts back to how she was when she saved his life on that night they first met… Blank and expressionless.

“Your Majesties, we are approximately half a day away from Fódlan’s Throat. It is, however, growing late. Would you like to set up camp for the night, or do we press on?” One of the knights had approached them, and bowed down as he spoke. Claude brought his hand to his chin, whilst Byleth sighed.

“We’ll stay-”

“We’ll move on-”

The couple briskly turned to face each other as they simultaneously gave contradicting answers to the question. The knight tensed up, having not received a clear answer to pass along to his allies.

“Think about it, Claude. The sooner we get to the border and deal with the people causing a ruckus, the sooner we can get home. This is the first time we’ve been away from Esther, and… I’m not liking it,” Byleth grumbled, her hand resting on the top of the Sword of the Creator as she closed her eyes and looked up.

With a slight ‘tut’, Claude took a step closer to Byleth and took hold of her free hand. “But if we rush into this situation, and it turns out to be dangerous… We could be sentencing ourselves to death. Tiredness leads to bad decisions, By…”

_He should know. He still wasn’t sleeping properly. He was also the one who decided to let Byleth know of this entire situation, resulting in them both going. If he hadn’t, then Esther would still have one of her parents if the worst happened at the border…_

Byleth tensed up, before she let out a deep breath. “Fine, you’ve persuaded me. We’ll rest for a few hours, before making a move on again…”

Once the knight had left, Byleth fell into Claude with a slight tremble. “I miss her… I miss her so much...” Knowing that she was talking about their daughter, Claude nodded. He absolutely shared the sentiment. “I just want this over with...”

After hesitating for a moment, Claude pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s not too late for you to head back… I can deal with this on my-!”

“No. Those idiots asked for the King and Queen. Not just you. I’m not leaving you behind… Not now, not ever. And I’m certainly not leaving Esther without both of her parents...”

  


* * *

* * *

  


Flayn was amazed by the change in Esther as soon as she brought her to Claude and Byleth’s room. Normally the room would be locked if the pair weren’t present, but fortunately she had been left with a key to get in as Esther also slept in there, and she had been permitted to rest in there to keep an eye on her.

The girl was all smiles and giggles now. She shuffled around on a fluffy rug on the floor, occasionally rolling around on her stomach as she tried to grab at her favourite deer toy.

After a while of watching as the girl enjoyed herself, Flayn went and sat down on the carpet in front of her. “Ah, you are just the cutest when you are not crying...” She reached out and ruffled the hair on the top of her head, inducing another giggle. “So adorable...”

She wasn’t expecting to have little hands grab at her hair as she leaned in, however. It made her shriek, and Esther was in hysterics. It seemed that she enjoyed grabbing at it and attempting to put it in her mouth.

“A… mama...” She started babbling once Flayn freed her hair. “Ma ba ba!” Her arms were threw up in the air. She then kept making the same noise over and over again. “Ma! Ma! Ma ma ma!”

Now, Flayn _knew _that Esther was still a bit young to be properly speaking, but she couldn’t help but think at the constant grabbing at her green hair, and the shouting of ‘ma’ may have been a sign that she was missing Byleth… “Ah, you miss your mother… I know exactly how you feel, little one…” She trailed off, before giving the girl another quick hair ruffle. “She will be home before you know it...”


	3. In trusted hands (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth almost loses it when she finds out the true reason she and Claude had been made to go to the border.
> 
> Flayn has a few stern words with Seteth, brought on by looking after the little princess.

Never had Claude seen Byleth so enraged before this point. Not even when she went on the relentless pursuit of Kronya after Jeralt was killed did she show so much anger.

“So, you caused a massive situation at the border, resulting in forces from Fódlan and Almyra having to gather to stop it, simply because you were stopped from trading your goods over the border?!” Byleth had her hand against her face, nails digging into her skin slightly, and her eyes were shut as she tapped her foot. “And your brilliant idea to deal with it, rather than ask for any permits to trade… Was to request myself and my husband to come here and to personally let you through, in turn leaving our young child behind, and all of our other duties – which _includes _the discussions of relaxation of trading rules over the border?!”

Claude could see how frustrated Byleth was getting, so he had to put his arm in front of her before she acted recklessly. He could already see her free hand edging slowly towards the Sword of the Creator, after all. “We cannot do what you want us to. We may be the rulers of this land, but we’re certainly not above any laws. You should go through the same process as any other trader… Paperwork sucks, I know, but you can’t avoid it as things currently are. Now go, before my wife asks for the fair lady Goneril and her axe to escort you away.”

Byleth’s eyes had widened when Claude told the rebellious traders to leave, and she grabbed hold of her husband’s arm in shock. However, before she asked why he let them off so easily, she noticed a child-like amusement in his eyes. “_Claude, _what have you planned...”

With a grin, Claude threw his arm over her shoulders and laughed. “Those traders are going to, for some reason, find that their paperwork keeps getting rejected… What a shame. I’m sure they were _really _looking forward for selling their wares in Almyra.”

  


* * *

* * *

  


Flayn had found herself smitten with the little girl she had been trusted to care for. She noticed little things which Esther would do when happy (other than giggling) which she couldn’t help but gush about to her father.

By this point, Claude and Byleth had been gone for four days.

Whilst Esther had taken the moment to sleep, Flayn had taken her to Seteth's office so that she could spend some time with her father without being disturbed by the girl fussing or others trying to get a glance of the girl.

“Oh, and she did the most adorable thing today! I was holding onto her after she ate, and she started to-!”

“Flayn. I do know how babies behave...”

“But she was simply adora-!”

“Adorable – I know. That is the sixth time today.” Flayn pouted as Seteth dismissed her excitement yet again, doing her best not to tighten her grasp on the sleeping child in her arms.

After taking a few moments to think of a response, Flayn huffed and turned her back to leave. “I sincerely hope you are not so passive when I have a child of my own, father. I cannot think of anything worse than not having your support.”

The office fell deathly silent then, the only noises being the scraping of Seteth's chair across the wooden floor and Esther making a variety of little noises as she slept. His facial expression was the perfect representation of anger, frustration, and concern rolled into one, though it did very slightly soften as he watched Flayn tighten her grasp of the girl protectively.

“_Cethleann! _What are you implying?!” His voice was hushed yet loud at the same time, his words coming from between his teeth, yet also quiet as he didn’t want to wake Esther up.

“I am implying nothing. Just that... if I were ever to have a child in the distant future, I hope you are not so... Disinterested,” she sighed, and closed her eyes. “I have never dealt with a child before, let alone one so sweet and young. You cannot expect me to not get excited and wish to talk to you about it.”

Once more, the room was silent. Fortunately, a much less tense silence than previously.

“I... understand. I apologise for if I frustrated you with my earlier response.” Seteth exhaled quietly, and sat down once more. “Though perhaps you could have phrased something which you said a moment ago differently. You made it sound as though you were... I am far from ready to deal with you and a-"

“You appear far too young to be a grandfather. As do I a mother. You do not need to worry about that for a long while...”

Flayn finally left the room, and smiled at the sleeping girl in her arms.

_Gosh. All of that because she wanted to tell Seteth about Esther excitedly giggling and squealing after eating a mushed up banana. And being extremely adorable as the yellow fruit ended up all over her face._

  


* * *

* * *

  


After the incident with the traders at the border, and Claude informing everyone necessary that said traders were forbidden from crossing the Fódlan-Almyra border to sell their goods, the king and queen had ended up taking off to return to Garreg Mach as soon as they could. Hilda had done her best to persuade them to relax, and rest for the night before heading off.

Claude and Byleth had initially intended to take up Hilda on her offer, but after they spoke to one-another about how much they missed Esther, they decided that they didn’t want to rest. They just wanted to be with their daughter.

In addition to that, they did trust Flayn with Esther, as in turn, Flayn was under Seteth’s watchful eye. But they still remembered that time ten years ago, where Flayn had been kidnapped despite that. It could be that simple to have Flayn take her eye off Esther for her to be taken too.

They had to be as cautious as they could when it came to their daughter’s care. Her status as the first princess of both Fódlan and Almyra wasn’t a status which came lightly, despite her being a mere few months old. There had already been many threats to her life which had been dealt with, and there was close to no doubt that there were many more to come.

This situation at the border had them paranoid that it could have been a distraction to get to her too.

After two days of non-stop travelling, the pair taking turns resting as they continued to move, they finally returned to Garreg Mach. They had caught the guards by surprise, especially considering that their personal guard were absent, and they hadn’t even heard that they would be returning just yet.

Flayn had been sat by the fishing pond at the time they arrived, a fishing rod in her hands and Esther on her lap. The child had been giggling away, and her bright green eyes lit up more when she saw the reflections of fishes in the water, or when she ended up getting splashed.

At one point though, Esther started to fidget and babble away, distracting Flayn from fishing. The rod was carefully placed down, before Esther laughed loudly when she stood up. Flayn sighed as she began to throw her arm about, something clearly having caught her attention.

“Let us go and see what is happening, Esther...”

For a few moments, Flayn watched what Esther was doing, and bit her lip. She had gone from laughing and making noises to making small whines and stretching her arms out. She decided it would be best to see what the commotion was before the girl started crying.

She hadn’t been expecting a bit of a crowd by the marketplace, so she hovered in the background where it was quieter, remembering one of the very specific rules which Claude had given her – not to take Esther anywhere too busy, especially if it was near entrances or exits, as it was a prime opportunity for any potential kidnappers.

However, Flayn then realised why there was a commotion…

“Esther! Flayn!” Byleth’s voice was heard above all of the other noise, before the queen’s familiar green hair emerged from the crowds, an exhausted Claude being pulled along behind her. “I am… so, so happy to see you both...”

“Translation – we’ve been stressing so much being apart from Esther, and hoped she wasn’t too much of a bother,” Claude smiled, watching as Esther’s face went from a sulk to a bright grin when she realised her parents were there. “I can actually see why Seteth likes to be so protective of you now, Flayn… It’s hard being away from your child… So hard.”

“Well, if it reassures you both, your daughter has been an absolute delight. Why, we were just fishing and she was having a wonderful time looking at the fishes. She has also shown quite the liking of shuffling around your room, and eating bananas… Sometimes my hair when she was too impatient, but luckily she just made it damp, nothing more.”

Byleth smiled, laughing at the mental image of Esther trying to get hold of Flayn’s hair. It was perhaps made easier that she had seen Esther try the same with that stray strand of hair that would always fall in front of Claude’s face.

“If you both ever wish to have a break from caring for Esther again, I would be more than willing to offer my services… She is such a precious child, and you are both so lucky to have her.” Flayn laughed as Claude took hold of the girl, who was now squealing in delight at the sight of her father.

“Thank you, Flayn… We will bear that in mind for the future… But for now, it isn’t necessary,” Byleth whispered, turning to face Esther as she stroked the child’s cheek with her thumb. “Claude and I decided that we will be leaving for Almyra at the end of this moon. We are leaders of both countries, and not just Fódlan… And we can’t let Esther grow up knowing only one of her homelands, can we?”

After a few more minutes of talking, Byleth and Claude decided to retire for the day, and took Esther along with them. Flayn honestly felt lonely, not having the young princess by her side any more.

But then she froze.

_Since when did Claude know about the true nature of her relation to Seteth?_


	4. Doting

Considering that neither one of Claude or Byleth had informed anyone in Almyra of their return, they were being expected when they entered the grounds of the royal residence. As it had turned out, Seteth had decided to take that step for them, and sent a messenger in advance, knowing that they would not be travelling too far at any one time, or sleeping in the wilderness with their daugher.

Both of Claude’s parents were there, eager to have a look at their granddaughter. In particular, it was Claude’s father who had been the most eager to embrace her.

“Six generations it has taken... Six generations, and not a single girl born into this family. And now... we are finally blessed with a princess. It is a good omen for Almyra and its people.” He explained, looking at the confused child directly in the eyes. Esther knew her parents were there, but she didn’t know how to react to the strange man who seemed quite like her father.

“A... blessing?” Byleth tilted her head in confusion, unfamiliar with what was being said.

Claude just leaned into her ear to whisper to her so that his father didn’t hear. “It’s all superstitious. To older Almyrans in particular. A princess being born means that the country will ‘thrive'. A prince being born means that the country will ‘grow strong'. I just find it to be nonsense, it just depends on the mindset of said prince or princess,” he explained, a brief smile forming on Byleth’s face in response to him saying that in front of his parents. “However, I think that Esther will be a brilliant princess for Almyra and Fódlan no matter what, and that both countries will prosper.”

A knowing smile formed on Claude’s mother’s face as she looked between the whispering couple, before she took hold of Esther, who had now decided to relax with her grandparents and start to fall asleep. “She looks very much like her father, doesn’t she? Ah, she reminds me of when Claude was a child. A very quiet yet curious one, and already looks as though she is preparing to be a mischief.”

At that moment, Claude looked as though he wanted to hide away in shame as Byleth began to giggle, and his father began to laugh _loudly _in agreement. He made a mental note to persuade his parents to _never _embarrass him like that in front of Esther once she was old enough to speak.

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


It felt unusual once Byleth went to settle down for the night. For what was the first time since Esther was born (not including when she and Claude went to the border) she was asleep in a different room to her. Yes, the room Esther was in was a neighbouring room, with a door directly between the two, and through said door she could see Claude sat on the floor tickling Esther as she laughed… But Byleth continued to feel uncomfortable.

After about twenty minutes, Esther quietened down, Byleth becoming aware that Claude was singing her favourite lullaby. After hearing Claude sing it a few times, she began to do some research on how the song could be translated… However, she had discovered from Claude himself that it was a song which his mother had sung to him in a very broken version of Almyran when he was a child, and as such… never really made much sense. But the sentimental aspect of it was why Claude would sing it to Esther. She found that quite sweet, actually.

She did her best to remember whether Jeralt did anything similar for her, but… It was a difficult thing to remember. Her younger years were somewhat foggy, and due to her being raised on the road, with not many people knowing many specifics of how she was raised… It was very hard.

The best she had gotten was from one of Jeralt’s oldest mercenary companions, who left the group when she was just reaching her teen years. Jeralt would read censored versions of his ‘adventures’, and would gift her unique flowers he would find when travelling. After knowing the situation surrounding her mother though, Byleth knew he would do that as his way of coping with losing her...

“Hey, By? You’re looking very lost in thought there… Are you going to say goodnight to Esther? She is about to fall asleep...” Claude called from the doorway, catching Byleth’s attention. She glanced over to him, before smiling. That was followed by her pressing a kiss to the palm of her hand, holding it out in front of her, before blowing it in Claude’s direction. He decided to play along, and caught it in his own hand, before pressing one of his fingers to Esther’s nose.

Once he had laid the girl to rest, he made his way over to Byleth, and sat down beside her on the bed. “So… First night in Almyra, and she seems to have settled in quite well...” He sighed quietly, lacing his fingers between Byleth’s, before a smirk formed on his face. “Say… How about we make the most of this peace we currently have?”

Byleth snorted, and playfully hit his arm in response.

“Ow! I wasn’t suggesting _that_, I was suggesting that we maybe go outside and look at the stars for a while!”

“Really, Claude?”

“Yes, really!”

“Uh huh.”

Claude now pouted, and nudged at her arm before pulling her up to her feet. “Come on, By… Before Esther wakes up and causes a ruckus so that she gets fed.” Without giving her much choice, Claude started leading Byleth towards the balcony of the room, opening the glass doors with ease and allowing a cool breeze to enter the room behind them. “It’s been a long time since we did this.”

Slowly, Byleth nodded as he brought her over to the stone wall, before watching as he closed his eyes and tilted his head upward. She squeezed at his hand as a smile formed on his face, a matching smile plastered across her own. “The first time we did this… That was over ten years ago. On the night of the ball, after you dragged me out for that awfully long dance.”

“Yep… I still remember your reaction. The way your eyes widened, and muscles tensed up… It was actually quite adorable, watching my dear Teach be the one who had to be taught. _How _you managed to get me to win a dancing competition is beyond me.”

“Hey, I know how to dance, I am just terrible at doing it myself...” Byleth muttered, before a thought came to her head. “Will you ever teach Esther to dance?”

“Maybe. But if she has two left feet like you...”

“Hey! Don’t make me push you off this balcony, Claude von Riegan!”

Claude opened his eyes simply so that he could wink at her. “Don’t commit regicide, Byleth von Riegan~”


	5. Firsts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth and Claude experience Esther's first steps and words.

The day that Esther had her first steps was overwhelmingly normal. The girl had been accompanied by Byleth in the castle's courtyard, surrounded by toys, the young wyvern which she had been gifted by Claude on her day of birth, and most surprisingly, her grandfather.

“Eeeeh!” Esther squealed with excitement as she threw the toy eagle in her hands about. She could already picture a (younger) Edelgard and Hubert losing their minds over the mud getting onto what was once the Black Eagles banner. Byleth wasn’t expecting to see said eagle then begin to fly... directly into Claude’s father’s face. The toy fell to the ground after, before it was viciously mauled by the small wyvern.

“Hah, she is a powerful child... if the stitching on that toy was not so strong it would have fallen apart then!”

It was Byleth’s turn to laugh then. “Did you know that Claude made those toys? We have a friend in Fódlan called Hilda, who is somewhat lazy when it comes to most things barring crafts... He asked her for lessons on stitching just so that he could make them for Esther...”

“Goneril?”

“Yeah.” Byleth was not surprised that he knew of Hilda, given that it was her brother and his forces who fought off a majority of Almyran forces at the border many years ago. “I still don’t belie-!”

There was an excited squeal as a mud-caked lion hit her square in the face.

Byleth groaned as she used her hands to wipe the dirt from her face, ignoring the laughter from her father-in-law and daughter. She was glad that it didn’t get into her eye, but it certainly managed to cover her eyelids. She decided to keep her eyes closed as she got rid of that bit of mud.

But she paused when she heard Esther making a few quiet, slightly strained noises. They were familiar noises, as they were the ones she would make whenever she tried to stand up, usually with the support of Claude’s hand or her boots.

She had not been expecting to suddenly feel two small, warm hands on her leg following a quiet “oof" sound.

Esther had only gone and taken her first steps whilst her eyes were _closed. _And Claude’s father could not stop laughing.

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


It was also a seemingly normal day when Esther said her first words. Claude had been sat with her in the grand dining room, intricately decorated with hold and jewels – so perhaps it was normal to the Almyran king and his family, but not to anyone else.

“Okay, Esther... Here is some banana. Please don’t throw it into my hair again. You eat it. You...” Claude picked up one of the slices of banana, tossed it into his mouth (much to Esther’s amusement) before speaking some more. “Eash ih. Youph eash ih.”

Claude was at the _absolute peak _of manners for a king when he ate that piece of banana, with his mouth wide open, speaking when eating, his fruit-induced slur making him sound almost drunk.

Fortunately, the lack of manners allowed for Esther to find it easier to copy his actions. She picked up a slice of banana between her fingers and looked at it for a moment. Her eyes then lit up as she stuffed it into her mouth and started to chew (noisily, as Claude had done).

When she had finished, she giggled and clapped, before there was a loud cheer from the girl. “Mama!”

Claude wasn’t phased at first, and glanced towards the large doors at the opposite side of the room, assuming that Byleth was there. When he realised that she _wasn’t _though, he turned to face Esther with a cocked eyebrow.

“Mama?”

She reached her hands out for him, a wide grin on her face. “Ye! Mama!”

“Esther.... Am I ‘mama’?”

“Mama! Hee hee!”

“Oh hell. I am, aren’t I? Damn... Time to go and find your actual mama, Esther...”

Claude held out the last piece of banana which was there for Esther to take, and she happily ate it. He then waited for a moment for her to settle down, before picking her up in the search of Byleth.

Luckily it didn’t take too long to find her – she had received a request about one week earlier from Felix asking as to whether he could come to Almyra to spar with her once more. As such, she accepted, and Felix had arrived that morning.

When he arrived at the courtyard, Claude’s heart almost leaped out of his chest at the sight of Byleth. For the first time in quite a while, she was not wearing her typical outfit, and instead opted to wear her usual lace-patterned tights with a dress of the same yellows and browns he would often wear. Oh, and she was absolutely destroying Felix in their fight.

It was a wonderful sight.

“Wow, Esther... look at your mama make fighting Felix look like a walk in the park...”

Felix scoffed, and sent a brief glare in Claude’s direction as he tried to land a hit on Byleth. “I can _hear _you, Claude!”

“Keep going, it’s great motivation,” Byleth smirked, her eyes meeting Claude’s for a few seconds, before Felix started attacking more through frustration.

After a few minutes, Felix was flat on the ground, Byleth’s sword pointing at his chin. “I win yet again, Fraldarius.”

“You had Claude and your kid supporting you though!”

“And what of the other time I beat you before they arrived?”

“_Fine, _you win...”

Byleth helped Felix up from the ground, before looking at Claude and gasping. “I can imagine that Claude’s father would love to spar with you, Felix. He seems to love anyone who can swing a weapon around. Or toys...” Claude noticed the last part of her sentence be muttered under her breath, as she looked at Esther.

The girl looked back at Byleth, before her eyes lit up and there was a brief burst of clapping from her. “Mama!”

Just as Claude had been previously, she was not phased by Esther saying that, before realisation hit her. “Mama... Did she just say...?” Byleth rushed over, leaving behind Felix as he rolled his eyes.

Claude smiled. “Yeah. It’s why I wanted to find you...”

“Mama!” Esther grabbed at Claude’s shirt, before Byleth gave him a pleading look which was essentially saying ‘_please let me hold her'._

So, Claude passed Esther over to Byleth. Things were quiet for a moment, before the tears began. “Mama! Maaamaaa...” She had started reaching her arms out in Claude’s direction as she sobbed.

It was now time for Felix to be amused by the situation. “So, Claude is her ‘mama’? Brilliant. That is just...” He trailed off when he saw the stern glare he was receiving from the Almyran King. “That’s a story I'm telling Ingrid when we meet tonight.” He then grabbed his sword, an entertained smirk on his face. “I'll be back later, Byleth. Esther. Esther’s ‘mama’.”


	6. Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude's worst nightmares come to fruition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, who is ready for some angst featuring over-protective mama Byleth and papa Claude, followed up by some fluff?

It was two weeks away from Esther’s first birthday – which also happened to be the tenth anniversary of Jeralt’s death – when Claude’s worst nightmares began to come to life.

It had all started with a sudden visitor in the middle of the night.

Byleth had just woke up to comfort the crying girl, who had been unable to sleep properly because of a noisy bird outside, just for there to be a loud hammering noise against the door of hers and Claude’s room. In the past, the couple had made it quite clear that they were not to be disturbed once they retired for the night unless it was an emergency, so they knew that something was going on straight away.

Claude had been the one to answer, and was caught by surprise at Nader stumbling into the room as he opened the door.

“It’s about time, kiddo!”

With a sigh, and as he raked a hand through his hair, Claude responded with “I’m twenty-eight, that’s not exactly the age of a ‘kid’, but I suppose you’re not here about semantics, are you Nader?”

As Byleth heard the talking, she picked up Esther (who was now very unlikely to go to sleep because of all the noise) and returned to the bedroom to listen to the conversation.

“Yeah, I’m here about-!” Nader paused for a moment when he saw Esther grumpily resting against Byleth’s shoulder, and he sighed. “Good, the little girl is safe...”

Byleth raised an eyebrow in Claude’s direction, and all she received in response was a confused shrug. In her typical blunt manner as she tried to settle her daughter before her crying resumed, Byleth asked the question which was on both of their minds. “Why exactly are you concerned about Esther’s safety?”

The room was silent for a moment.

“There’s been a letter received… And it’s a death threat against the princess.”

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


_The princess will die before the end of her first year. You have my word for it._

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


One week and three days before Esther’s birthday, and by this point, Byleth had been able to send a message back to Fódlan. She had made sure to let Seteth know of the threat against Esther’s life, and that they would appreciate some support in identifying those who would dare to make such a threat.

Needless to say, passage in and out of the Almyran capital suddenly became a difficult process, with the procedures to enter the castle becoming even tougher still. People were extremely unhappy with this change, but Claude knew he couldn’t allow the people to know that the princess had received a death threat.

Neither the king nor queen would allow Esther out of their sights for a moment. Not even Claude’s parents could have the opportunity to spend time with their granddaughter without one of them present.

Claude was only thankful that before Esther’s birth, he had come up with a variety of contingency plans surrounding his daughter. The only way all of these procedures had happened so quickly was because he knew these sorts of situations were a possibility – he had experienced them when he was a child, after all – and he knew that above all else, he wanted his daughter to live a _somewhat _normal life without having to worry about things such as assassinations or kidnappings.

All that had to be done now… was to track down those who would _dare _try to kill the most precious thing in his life.

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


It was now six days until Esther’s birthday. At present, Byleth and Esther were in Claude’s study – Byleth taking a break from filling in paperwork by reading, Esther playing with some of her favourite toys. It was a lovely room, with colourful, translucent curtains covering the large windows, a comfortable desk, and stuffed bookcases on all of the other walls. A haven for a schemer and tactician like Claude.

“Mama...” Byleth placed her book down when she heard Esther call for her, quickly looking into the scared green eyes of the little girl. She knew that Esther was talking to her and not Claude, so she got up and sat down beside her. The girl had a unique way of calling for Claude, which normally would involve a lot of giggling whilst also calling him ‘mama’. Byleth was just ‘mama’ without the giggling. However, Claude was currently away, informing the guards of the capital that some of their allies from Fódlan were going to be arriving, and to give them passage into the city.

“Are you hungry, Esther?” In response there was a whining noise, Esther’s way of indicating ‘no’. “Do you want to play?” Another whine. “Do you want… me to play?”

“Papa.” Byleth froze at what Esther said, before smiling.

“Do you want Papa?” That was responded to with a very small nod. Byleth’s smile grew wider, before Esther started to copy her smile. For weeks, she and Claude have been trying to teach her to call Claude ‘Papa’ and not ‘Mama’, as the hilarity of the situation had worn off quite quickly. But now that she was actually using it... “I want your Papa too. I also want my Papa but he isn’t here...”

Esther then went to grab her toy lion, but was stopped by the sound of glass shattering. She screeched and was very quickly in hysterics at the noise and the arrow which was now settled in her toy. Byleth instantly grabbed her daughter, and held her close to her chest as she scrambled to her feet. “Shh, Esther… Shh, Mama has you...”

Before Byleth could try to leave the study, some more glass from the windows was smashed, and another arrow went flying into the room. That time, it didn’t hit a toy. It instead embedded itself into the queen’s shoulder, almost forcing her to drop Esther if it weren’t for her other arm.

Without any further hesitation, and doing her best to ignore the pooling warmth around her shoulder in addition to the horrific tingling feeling shooting up and down her arm, Byleth got out of there… She didn’t want to risk Esther getting injured.

Thankfully, the room was in a windowless hallway, meaning that unless there were attackers hiding in the halls – which there wouldn’t be, due to the heightened security levels – she would be safe. And so would Esther.

Fortunately, it was only another few seconds before there were footsteps nearby, and guards emerged. Even more fortunately, Claude was with said guards. He had returned just to hear the windows shatter, and knew that it meant that something bad was going on.

“Are you both okay?!”

“Esther is… Me, on the other hand...” Byleth weakly laughed, wincing as she moved her arm to show him the arrow which was lodged into her shoulder. “She’s been after you… Even called you ‘Papa’...”

“Pass Esther here. You need to get your arm looked at.”

Byleth laughed quietly, doing her best to ignore the commotion from the general direction of the study, which indicated that the attacker had been caught just outside the window. She then passed Esther over to Claude, before reaching behind her and pulling out the arrow. That was followed by a light glow between her fingers.

“It’s quite fortunate that we both decided to learn some basic healing magic… Even though it was for the intention of healing Esther if she ever got hurt...”

“… Please at least get someone to look it over once you’ve healed it up.”

“I will, Claude. I prom-” Byleth stopped when Esther’s crying turned into muffled sobs against Claude’s chest.

“Papa...”

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


It was finally Esther’s birthday, and much to the relief of Byleth and Claude, progress had been made in investigating the death threats against their daughter. If it hadn’t been from Seteth’s help in Fódlan, they would be no further in their investigations.

The person who had injured Byleth had also been from Fódlan, and was working alone. However, they had been refusing to reveal their reasoning behind targeting Esther. That was where Seteth came in, as he had some knights investigating their home to see whether there was anything else incriminating which could be found. But for now, knowing that they were apprehended, and unable to bring harm to Esther was a huge relief.

“Happy birthday, you little rascal!” Claude grinned, ruffling Esther’s hair as she stumbled around between people, excited at the attention she was getting. “Are you happy?”

“Ya!”

“Well, isn’t that good! Now, give your grandmama a hug?”

“Gamama?” Esther looked around in confusion, before her face lit up at the sight of Claude’s mother. “Gamama!”

Byleth laughed at the way she was trying to rush around, but kept falling over. But being the ever-determined child she was, she would take a few moments to sit on the ground, before standing up again and continuing her excited journeys between people. “She’s really happy today, isn’t she?”

“Yeah… She really is. And we’re lucky, as she is still here with us… and not dead, as that son of a-”

“Claude. No. We said we wouldn’t mention that today. And _never _mention it in front of her.”

“I know… I’m just so happy that she is here though, it just makes today that more special.” Claude then sighed, knowing that even though it had been the first time Esther had lived through a death threat, it was more than certain that it wouldn’t be the last time either. But he shook that thought out of his head, and instead took hold of Byleth’s hand.

By this point, Esther had given up with people, and was now playing with her wyvern, who had a ribbon around its neck and seemed just as excited.

“What did you get for her from us?”

“Well… I patched up her lion toy. That’s one thing...” Claude smiled, and rested his head on her shoulder. “I also bought her a few books. Picture books though, not full-blown novels. I thought that maybe she would enjoy hearing some stories at her naptimes and bedtimes... I even set aside a few and said that they were from her 'grandpapa Jeralt'.”

Byleth laughed quietly, doing her best to envision her father trying to give Esther a birthday present. But then she remembered something she had witnessed about twenty minutes earlier. “Ah... so that’s what her wyvern was tearing up before.”

“Yeah- Wait, what?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna say here that I am _absolutely_ going with the flow with this, with no 'proper' structure, per se. I have a very vague plot with a few ideas I want to throw in, but other than that it is 100% spontaneous, and if there's anything anyone wants to see feel free to say! (I'm very much aware already that people have mentioned Esther getting a sibling and that's very much a possibility at this point :3)


	7. Preparing to return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the process of preparing to return to Fódlan, Byleth receives a letter from a former student, whilst Claude does his best to entertain their daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the formatting doesn't mess up... I'm posting this from my phone rather than my laptop so fingers crossed this works!

_Dear Professor (you don’t mind us still calling you that, do you?),_

_I am writing to inform you of some wonderful news that Dorothea and I would like to share. We are expecting a child together! It came as quite a shock, but we knew you had to be the first person we told as neither of us would be alive today if not for you allowing us into the fold back when we were students. _

_We know that we are expecting a son, and that he may be arriving sooner rather than later. _

_I would also like to take this opportunity to ask if you and Claude could offer some advice with looking after a child... As much as I do not wish to admit it, our upbringing were so vastly different, Dorothea and I are already debating on how best to raise our son... You do not have to help us in the response to this letter, but if you happen to be in Fódlan before the next Great Tree Moon, it would be lovely to meet up to talk over some tea._

_All the best,_

_Ferdinand von Aegir_

* * *

_Hello Ferdinand,_

_Yes, it’s fine if you call me Professor still. I’m much more used to that than all of the other titles I have, so feel free._

_Congratulations, too! It’s an honour that you decided to tell me first. Claude also sends his congratulations too, though he seems to be keen on the idea of Esther having someone close to her age to play with, if you would be okay with that when your son is a bit older._

_As for your request, I would enjoy to meet up soon. In about one week after I send this letter, we will be returning to Derdriu to settle down there on a semi-permanent basis, so feel free to visit whenever you like. _

_Best of luck,_

_Byleth (and Claude and Esther!!! By forgot our names so I intercepted the letter before it was sent and added them on.)_

* * *

It was just as Claude tried to return the intercepted letter to the other correspondences which were due to be sent out that he was caught by Byleth. The fact that there was a giggling toddler on his shoulders absolutely played a part in him getting caught too.

“Before I ask why I just caught you tampering with the letter I sent to Ferdinand, can I ask as to why you have left me to sort out our move to Derdriu with the company of your father, or anyone? He thinks we only need to take weapons, a horse or two, and some wyverns...” Byleth muttered, before reaching up to Claude’s shoulders to hold Esther herself. “He should know that we at least need a few days-worth of food and drink to take too, as we can’t just fly there in a day like we normally would with this little one.”

With a sigh, Claude shook his head before shrugging. “I did ask my mother, but I suppose she fobbed it off to father...” He then closed his eyes. “As for the letter, I just wanted to make sure we hadn’t been signed up to hold a seminar on parenting for Ferdinand. Then I noticed that you didn’t even add either one of mine or Esther’s names to the letter, so I had to add them!”

“Papa... ah ‘em,” Esther piped up, doing her best to copy what Claude said, before messing with Byleth’s hair. She then looked around, and smiled when she saw both of her parents smiling back at her.

“Anyway... We should get back to sorting out our stuff before your father replaces our clothes and books with armour and weapons. I'll leave it to you and your silver tongue to talk your father out of taking the contents of an armoury with us whilst I sort out Esther and her belongings.”

“Ah, fine... suppose I should.”

* * *

By the end of that day, only Esther was not tired and longing to crawl into bed. And even then, she was bouncing around and giggling with her Wyvern (whom she had taken to affectionately referring to as ‘Iva', as she had attempted to say ‘Wyvern' and gave up after a while) on her parents' bed. Claude and Byleth were relegated to the cluttered floor, with how stubborn Esther was being about being moved.

After a while, Claude huffed, beginning to feel agitated at trying to lie down on the makeshift bed on the ground, just to find himself kneeing a book, elbowing a box, or having to save himself and Byleth from ‘Hurricane Iva’. 

He did notice after a while that Esther was growing quieter, as Iva had been tired out by all of the crashing around. Then there was a quiet thud, followed by a whine. 

Claude sat up just in time to see Esther stretching off the bed, on the verge of falling, just because one of her picture books had fallen to the floor. He grabbed hold of her just as she began to fall off too.

“Got you, you little mischief.”

Esther whined again as she continued stretching out for the book on the floor, despite him keeping a tight grasp of her.

“Do you want a story, Esther?”

“Ye!” Esther was very familiar with being told stories, so her face would light up any time she heard the word story. A gentle smile formed on Claude’s face as he used one of his arms to shift Iva from sprawling across the only accessible part of the bed, before sitting down and placing Esther on his lap.

“Okay, so...” He paused for a moment, Esther staring at him curiously. “Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince. He was with two of his friends, another prince and a princess. They were in a forest with lots and lots of trees. They were happy, but all of a sudden, there was a big, bad man and his naughty friends!” 

Esther flinched when Claude raised his voice talking about the ‘bad man and his naughty friends', and then began to frown as she didn’t like it. At the same time, the raised voice had woke up Byleth, who was now sitting up on the floor, wondering what on earth Claude was doing.

“The handsome prince and his friends ran away from the bad man, before they found a little village, where there was an awfully pretty and amazing lady with her sword, and her papa. The prince fell in love with the pretty lady at first sight, and together, they stopped the bad man and his friends. And then, when the bad man was gone, the pretty lady decided to stay with the prince... The lady became the prince's teacher and best friend... And eventually they got married, and had a beautiful little girl together... And that little girl is you, Esther.”

By this point, Esther had fallen asleep, soothed by Claude’s voice rather than his words. He laughed quietly as he pressed a kiss to her head, before he heard some of the clutter around the room fall.

Moments later, Byleth sat down beside Claude.

“Hmm, what a cute little story you just told Esther... But can I critique it, dear?”

“Go ahead, By.”

“I would have called the ‘pretty lady' a ‘strong lady' instead. That, and you missed out a certain five years of the story...”

“Okay, I'll use ‘pretty and strong lady' next time. That, and we don’t speak of those five years... I still feel some of the pain from when you went missing, as I fear it could happen again... Not that it should.”

“I promise that it was never intentional...”

“Yeah... I know that."

"For the sake of the little cutie, I won’t dare to leave your sides again.”

At this point, Claude raised his eyebrow. “Am I the little cutie?” he asked, fully aware that Byleth was talking about Esther.

“You can be one if you want to.”

“Great.” He then used one arm to keep hold of Esther, and put his other arm over Byleth’s shoulders to pull her closer to him. “I love you, By...”

“I love you too, Claude...”


	8. Morning visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving at Derdriu late at night, Byleth just wants to rest. However, visitors early the next morning makes that difficult.

“Mama! Look!” Byleth was woke up by feeling Esther reaching up hers and Claude’s bed, before being hit in the leg a few times by her tiny hand. “Hila! A... Aunny Hila gimme!”

Tiredly, Byleth opened her eyes and looked at Esther, who was now struggling to climb onto the bed. She sighed as she sat up, before realising what she was shouting about. Around her neck was a little necklace, with a small charm shaped like a flower.

“Mama, aunny Hila gimme!”

“Aunny Hila...?” Byleth muttered, doing her best to rack her brain about who on earth Esther was babbling on about. It took a few moments for things to click in her mind. “Oh... Do you mean Hilda, Esther?”

The girl nodded eagerly as Byleth picked her up and brought her onto the bed. “Ye! Aunny Hila! And, um... aunny... Ma... Mar...”

“Marianne?”

“Ye! Mar... Anne.”

Byleth smiled, before giving Esther a quick hug. “It’s very pretty, Esther. Make sure to say thank you, okay?”

Esther nodded, before giggling and grabbing Byleth’s hand. Before she could do anything more though, Claude called for Esther from downstairs, making her jump around in excitement before leaving Byleth alone.

All that Byleth could do was laugh to herself. She never knew that a child could be so excitable and cheerful, and it brought a smile to her face. She also found it cute at how quickly Esther was learning how to talk at almost a year and a half old. By this point, both she and Claude had figured that she liked to copy, which may have contributed to her picking up language as she had done.

One of the prime examples of Esther copying was when Claude tripped over her toy eagle. He had promptly reacted with a loud curse as he fell to the floor, before Esther curiously began saying “Sh... Sheet...?” From then on, they knew that they had to be careful with what they said around her.

“Hey! By, you awake yet? We’ve got visitors!” Claude called up, making her sigh. She was still awfully tired, as they had managed to get to Derdriu quite late the night before, and after a few days of travelling, she was tired. It had been the longest she had been travelling in almost ten years (not considering that she and Claude also had to keep an eye on Esther and Iva to stop them from wandering off) and her body was no longer used to being on the road.

“Give me a few minutes!” she responded, before sighing as she dragged herself out of bed. She made her way into the bathroom, before looking at her reflection in the mirror. Other than the fact that under her eyes looked dark, as though she hadn’t slept in a week (which was somewhat true), she was relieved that she looked okay... aside from one little thing she had teased Claude about a few weeks earlier.

“... That hair had better not be...” She peered further into the mirror, and sighed. “Grey. Great.” Byleth now felt like a hypocrite for teasing Claude for having grey hairs at twenty-eight, as here she was at thirty-two (or maybe twenty-seven) with grey hairs of her own.

She rolled her eyes, before splashing some water on her face before going downstairs.

One of the first things which she noticed was the clutter everywhere. That, and a small head of a young wyvern preparing to pounce.

“Please get down from there… It’s dangerous on those boxes when you can’t properly fly yet,” a quiet whisper came from the other side of a stack of boxes where Byleth could see Iva playing. She felt a slight sense of relief when the small creature made a quiet noise almost like a chirp, and proceeded to leave her line of sight. “That’s it, jump onto my arm then I will take you outside to your mother...”

After a moment of quiet laughing and cheerful cries, the concealed figure stepped out from behind the boxes with Iva in their arms. Byleth had quickly figured out that it had been Marianne there, but Marianne had been completely oblivious to her presence due to her silent entrance into the room.

“A-Ah! P- Professor! I- I didn’t know that you were there!” Marianne’s face drained of colour as she slightly tightened her grasp of Iva, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a shocked ‘o’ shape. “I- I was just trying to-”

Byleth smiled and shook her head before Marianne could apologise despite there being no need for one. She then took a step forward, and stroked Iva’s scaly head. “You’ll have to teach me how to calm down Iva… She is far too energetic for her own good, and the fact that you calmed her in seconds? That’s incredible!”

An embarrassed blush spread across Marianne’s face, before she loosened her grasp once more. “It’s nothing special… Ashe says similar things to me about helping to calm down his siblings when they are excited too...” Byleth noticed Marianne smile ever so slightly, before she began to walk past her towards the front doors of the house. She paused just as her hand came to rest on the handle. “By the way… I think Claude is waiting for you in the kitchen.”

Now that she had an idea of where Claude was, she made her way towards the kitchen just to hear panicked shouting.

“Esther, put that down! Pretty please?!”

“Okay, just give it to your papa...”

She was a mixture of curious, amused, and concerned at what she could hear.

“Oh no, not in my hair-!”

“Esther-!”

There was a loud clatter, and hysterical giggling. Byleth picked up her pace, and pushed open the doors to the kitchen to witness the immediate aftermath of the chaos she had heard. Esther was sat on a counter opposite to her, a beaming grin on her face.

_It almost reminded her of when Claude would pull off a successful scheme. Like father like daughter…_

Then there was the mess. Claude and Hilda were covered in some sort of lumpy beige substance, presumably porridge which had been made for breakfast, and it appeared to have gotten all into Hilda’s hair and Claude’s clothes. There was a shattered bowl on the floor with more of the food surrounding it.

“Mama! Yay!”


	9. Too fast, too soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude loves his daughter... Though he doesn't love how quickly she is growing up.

“No! G-Get off me, Dad!” Claude could tell that he had a frown on his face as he held onto the girl in front of him in an extremely tight embrace. “You’re being embarrassing!”

“That’s what fathers do, Esther… Or at least this father, anyway,” he whispered, giving her a slight squeeze before pressing a loving kiss to the top of her head. “It’s… been difficult for both me and your mother, knowing that you will be going away for a year… You’re our firstborn child, and-”

“Heir to the throne of Fódlan and Almyra, yes, I’ve heard that before...”

“It’s not just that, Esther…” Claude could feel his throat turn dry and scratchy as his surroundings grew clearer, and he began to make out the familiar surroundings of Garreg Mach. “You’re also our only daughter, and you’re going to be in a place which means an awful lot to us both… We met here. We learned here, laughed here, cried and loved here… We bled, mourned and fought here… And we lived here too, for a while. You were born here too.”

“Ugh, Daaaaaad…”

“We just… hope that you don’t leave us here too.”

He finally found himself releasing the grasp of the girl, whose face was red through embarrassment, but also filled with confusion. “I wouldn’t leave you, Dad… I’m only going to be away for one year, then I can return home...”

“It’s not that what I’m talking about, Esther. It’s the first time you’ve been away from us… People could take advantage. People did die when I was a student here, and your mother a Professor… Your Grandpa Jeralt included.”

The girl, who he had finally realised was his daughter, all grown up, sighed before flicking his forehead. “I’m going to have Failnaught with me, remember? I proved I can use it, and if I ever need to protect myself from murderers or Gautiers...” Claude raised his eyebrow as Esther grabbed the bow from behind her, before showing off as the weapon glowed red. “I’ll be fine… but...”

Claude raised an eyebrow when he saw Esther take a small step back, her hands starting to tremble. “What’s the-?!” He realised then why she was backing away, when he felt a sudden stinging sensation in his back. “Ah- Ow...” Other than the stinging, he felt both warm and cold… And he wasn’t stood up any longer, he was on his knees on the ground.

He could feel his chest tightening as there was a bright flash of red from above him, before he saw Failnaught clatter to the ground and heard sobbing.

“Dad… S- Stay awake...” Warmth overtook cold at that point, as he felt Esther’s arms around him, and heard her straining as she attempted to use some white magic. “Please...”

His vision slowly grew dark as the sobs grew louder. “Dad! Don’t leave me! Dad…!”

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


Claude was coated in sweat as he felt a small pair of hands shaking his arm. “Papa!” There was a quiet whisper as he felt his shirt be tugged at slightly, which was enough of a prompt to get him to open his eyes. “Papa! You’re awake...”

In a panic, he bolted upright, vision blurred for a few moments, but it thankfully cleared after blinking a few times. “Wh- Who…? Oh… Esther...” He had to take a moment to figure out whether he was dreaming or in reality, before sighing as he realised that he was very firmly in reality. What he had just witnessed was nothing but a nightmare. “What’s the matter?”

“You keep shouting me… Mama was trying to read to me but you keep shouting...”

“Oh… I’m sorry, Esther…” He could feel the relief flooding through his body as his daughter, only three, not whichever late-teen year she was in his nightmare, wrapped her arms around him for a hug. “I had a very bad dream, but you saved me… That’s why I kept shouting you.”

“I… saved Papa…?” Esther tilted her head in confusion, the small braids in her hair reflecting the light from the faint candle-light in the room. “Am I a hero? Like Grandpapa Jeralt?”

“Definitely… You are absolutely a hero, Esther. You are just like your Mama too…”

“Mama is a hero too?!”

“Oh yes… she definitely is...” At this point, Esther had climbed onto the bed, and was sat on her knees with her eyes wide with curiosity. He could very easily have gone into one of the many tales he had from the many times Byleth had saved him or one of their friends, but he also saw that Byleth was stood in the doorway, a book in her hands and her eyebrow raised.

“If I am a hero and Mama is a hero does that mean that if I had a little brother he would be a hero too?”

That question had caught Claude off-guard, and seemingly, it had caught Byleth off-guard too, based on the way in which the book fell onto the ground with a light thud.

“Esther… you don’t have a little brother...”

“But I want a little brother. Dorothea and Ferdie say I would be a good big sister!” Esther had a large pout on her face as Byleth made her way over to the bed, and took hold of their daughter’s hand.

“Dorothea and Ferdinand say that because you behave when they visit with Mathias… You are very gentle with him and share your toys,” Byleth explained, giving Esther a small smile. “And it isn’t up to you if you get a little brother-”

Esther made a quiet whining noise, before closing her eyes and sniffling. “But… But I want a little brother… I want a little brother who is a hero… just like me… and Mama…” At this point, Claude pulled Esther into a hug, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, whilst attempting to forget about the parallels of his nightmare that kept coming up in his mind as he did so.

“Sweetie… How about you go and do some more reading with your Mama before I take you for a mini flying lesson with Iva this afternoon?” There was a small grumble for a moment, before Esther pushed away from Claude and looked at Byleth as she held her arms out. “That’s a good girl. I’ll even take you to get some ice cream afterwards, just don’t tell Mama.”

The thought of ice cream made her face finally light up. “Okay Papa. Shh! I won’t tell Mama!”

Byleth rolled her eyes, but pretended not to hear about the ice cream just so that she didn’t bring Esther back to the topic of a sibling. Esther was quick to jump into her arms, meaning that she wasn’t looking at the face of either parent.

They both had the same, matching expression though, stemming from the same question…

_How did she know?_

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


After that eventful wake-up call, Claude’s mind had been all over the place. Somehow, Esther had started asking questions about having a brother. And this was a mere few days after discovering that he and Byleth were, in fact, expecting a son.

She had mentioned that Dorothea and Ferdinand had told her that she would be a good big sister, but that had happened months ago, when their son, Mathias, was old enough to be brought with them on a visit to Derdriu. Long before there had even been talks of another child in their family.

Then there was his nightmare. He knew that there wasn’t a chance of it being real, and that it would likely be something he had forgotten about by the time the week had ended. But the timing of it… It had felt almost too convenient.

Just the night before, he had been telling Byleth of some of his concerns surrounding their future. About the ‘what ifs?’ that could happen. Then he had the nightmare of Esther, about to enrol in the Officer’s Academy in preparation for her future… just for him to be killed right there, in front of her.

It was only once he had sat down with Esther at one of the piers as they ate ice cream, and their wyverns were messing about in the water to try and catch fish, that he was finally able to figure out what his nightmare could have been about – and it was something much simpler than fears for the future, and of him leaving her before she was ready to take on her role destined by her bloodline….

His little girl, that he loved so much, was growing up so fast.

He glanced at her as she sat beside him, swinging her legs as she licked at her treat.

“Mmm! I looooove strawberry ice cream!” Esther looked excited as she did her best to stop the ice cream from melting down her hands, even if it meant that it was dribbling down her chin and covering her nose. “I want to get Mama ice cream too.”

“I already have some, Esther… Though you and your Papa were very cheeky, getting some and not inviting me.” Claude smiled when he heard Byleth behind them, before she sat down and hung her legs over the pier too. “But… I forgive you both. Though I bet that I have something better than ice cream to give you...”

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Byleth nodding at him slightly. He knew exactly what Byleth was going to say…

“I had a little talk with your Papa during your nap this morning… And we decided that you can have a little brother-”

“Really?!”

“But… You have to be patient, okay? It takes a long time…”

After that, Byleth began to laugh as Esther gave her an excited hug. Claude found it impossible to resist joining in the hug, so he shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around the pair.

Though he had his fears for (and nightmares about) the future… his family were much more important than them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling there's gonna be a few more kiddos in this fic soon-  
I mean the tally in this fic now is:
> 
>   * Byleth and Claude: 1(.5)
>   * Ferdinand and Dorothea: 1
> 
> and I'm probably gonna figure out a few more because I 100% want a part where their kids all conveniently end up at the Officer's Academy and Seteth going "Oh heck it's class of 1180" version 2.0


	10. Garreg Mach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth brings Esther with her to Garreg Mach to ask for Seteth's help.
> 
> Esther makes a few friends.

Esther was deathly silent as she stared at the person that Byleth was talking to. She didn’t like that he had decided to pat her head, and had decided straight away that she didn’t like him.

“I have to ask... What brought on this impromptu visit, Your Majesty? In particular without your husband, but with Her Highness?”

“That, Seteth, may need a bit longer than a few minutes stood by the Monastery gates... And please stop with the titles. Claude and I don’t want her to know about her status... at least until she is a bit older.”

“Ah, as you wish, Byleth... It feels inappropriate, but I shall do my best. At least around Esther...” Seteth trailed off, before he noticed the intense glare he was getting from the little girl. “Speaking of your daughter, I appear to have offended her somehow.”

Byleth felt Esther’s hands dig into her arm then, before she turned to face her. Esther kept staring at him, and it made Byleth laugh quietly. She had seen Claude pull similar faces when something was frustrating, and found it to be quite endearing.

“Esther... Why are you looking at Seteth like that?” She crouched down, and managed to get Esther to stop glaring by taking hold of her hands. “Seteth is a friend of Mama and Papa.”

“Se... eth not my friend. He bad man.”

“Why is he a bad man?”

“He copy Papa.”

“How?”

Esther began to pout at Byleth asking her multiple questions, but not before she patted Byleth on her head. “That... Papa do that. Only Papa.”

Byleth nodded, before standing at and smiling at Seteth. “Claude likes to pat her on the head. She’s unhappy that you also did it.” She then took hold of Esther’s hand, and gave it a light, reassuring squeeze. “She will likely forget all about it in about five minutes.”

All that Seteth could do in response to that was fold his arms and cross his eyes, but it did make him chuckle – it reminded him of when Flayn was young. He didn’t want things to be left on a bad note with the young princess though, so it was his turn to crouch down to talk to her.

The first thing that Esther did was gasp and try to hide behind Byleth, only peering out slightly.

“I’m sorry, Esther. I didn’t know you would get upset. I’m sorry.” The apology made her edge out a tiny bit.

“Very sorry…?”

“Yes, I am _very _sorry, Esther. Would you like to be friends?” He held out his hand, which was enough to persuade the child that perhaps he wasn’t a bad man. She took hold of his hand and nodded her head.

“Okay… we friends!”

With the pair now firm friends in Esther’s eyes, Seteth stood up straight, and the girl kept hold of his hand. “Byleth… perhaps you and Esther would like to join me upstairs? I was meant to be meeting with Professors Dominic, Hevring, and Ordelia, but I am certain that they would appreciate your presence and insight as a former Professor at the Academy.”

“Oh, Annette, Linhardt, and Lysithea are still teaching here?” Byleth’s question was met with a nod as they began to walk into the Monastery, with Esther excitedly looking around the large building as she kept a firm grasp of Seteth’s hand.

At first, the walk had been quiet until Esther had spotted a few cats and dogs, which had set her off shouting ‘kitty’ and ‘puppy’ at the top of her lungs. Eventually, it devolved into her chatting a lot about random things which made very little sense to anyone but her parents, due to her using a bit of the Almyran language when talking.

Then, she finally said something which Byleth wished she never said.

“Oh! I have secret! Se-eth! I have secret!” She had started tugging at Seteth’s arm, bringing the three to a stop. The smile on her face was wide as she kept talking. “Mama and Papa are letting me have little brother!”

Byleth quickly took hold of her daughter’s free hand, eyes wide through horror. “Esther, shush!”

Seteth gave a confused glance in Byleth’s direction as she did her best to stop Esther from shouting out her previous sentence even louder. “What?”

With a sigh, Byleth ran her hand through her hair, before glancing at Seteth. “Well, I suppose that the cat is out of the bag thanks to little chatterbox… It’s the reason why I’m here. Claude and I may need a bit of help from you again, like with when we found out that we were expecting Esther...”

  
  


“She is expecting another child… No doubt she will shield this one from the Church too...”

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


“I miss Papa. When we go home? When Papa go home?”

“We will go home in a few days… Papa is in Almyra telling your Grandpapa and Grandmama about your little brother so he might take a little bit longer.”

Esther frowned as she sat at the sidelines in the training grounds at Garreg Mach, having been brought there by Byleth as some of the current Officer’s Academy students had found out about her being present at the monastery, and had asked to spar with her. Not wanting to give up the chance to stretch her muscles before she reached a point she would find it somewhat more difficult, she had taken the requests up.

“Now, Esther… Mama will be back in a few minutes. Be a good girl and cheer for Mama, okay?”

She pouted, but nodded anyway as she reached out for some sweets which she had been given earlier by Lysithea.

As Byleth sparred with the students, Esther watched on very unhappily. She had been told by both of her parents that fighting was bad, but her Mama was there, fighting.

Eventually, somebody sat down next to Esther as she continued nibbling on her treats. She did her best to ignore the person, until she heard a quiet humming. She looked over at the lady who was making the noise with wide eyes, before smiling.

“Hello! You sing pretty,” she grinned, which was followed by a gasp. “You want?” She picked up one of the sweets, and held it up in front of the lady. The woman smiled, nodded, and took the sweet and placed it in her mouth.

“Thank you, little one. What is your name?”

Esther tilted her head for a moment, remembering that Claude and Byleth had told her before to be careful with talking to strangers. But the lady seemed nice… She wanted to be friends.

“I’m Esther! Um… Esther von… Riegan!”

“Nice to meet you, Esther… My name is Rhea.”


	11. Late night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth believed that she would have a quiet few moments to visit her parents' grave, leaving her daughter in Flayn's care.

It was late at night. Byleth had managed to get Esther settled down in the room which they were staying in for the night, and Flayn had jumped at the chance to look after her whilst she went for a visit to the graveyard.

One of the main reasons for the visit to Garreg Mach, other than asking for Seteth’s help with keeping the news of hers and Claude’s next child under wraps, had been to visit the graveyard to tell her parents the news. Even if they were both gone from this world, she still believed that they deserved to know.

She hadn’t been expecting to see somebody else at her parents’ grave when she reached the stairs down. She _certainly _wasn’t expecting it to be Rhea, either.

“I thought that you were in Zanado…”

“I wished to visit the monastery. I have been here for a few days now… I suppose that Seteth did not tell you as he has been rather busy.”

Byleth felt her shoulders tense up slightly as she walked over to the gravestone. She kneeled down, before resting her hand on it.

“When you were training before, with Seteth… I was there, watching you. I also met your daughter…” Rhea whispered, gazing down at the small patch of moss which was beginning to form at the corner of the stone. “I did not speak to her of the Church, I promise you that… She spent most of her time speaking about you, or the sweets she was eating.”

Byleth quietly laughed and closed her eyes. “She certainly does get her appetite from both me and Claude… And thank you. We are intending on teaching her of it when she is older, it’s a vital part of Fódlan’s history... But whether she follows it is a decision of her own. That isn’t something for anyone to decide but her.”

“And I… assume you shall be raising your son in a similar manner?”

For a moment, Byleth’s entire body tensed up – she didn’t know _how _Rhea had found out about that secret, as she had sworn Seteth to secrecy (and in turn Flayn), Claude was telling his parents in Almyra, and other than them, the only person who could have told Rhea could have been…

“… Yes. We will. Though how did you find out? Everyone I have told has been asked to keep it a secret.”

“I overheard when Seteth was informed. I would not have known otherwise,” Rhea whispered, before placing her hand on Byleth’s shoulder. “I find it difficult to accept that you are not following the Church… But it is something which I will have to learn to accept.”

A faint smile formed on Byleth’s face as she stood up once more. “All that Claude and I want is a world where people are accepted for who they are, and to break down the barriers which have been built up over the years. Hearing you say that, Rhea… It does give me hope for the future.”

Clearly, Rhea had not been expecting Byleth to say such a thing. She had almost been expecting to be told off for finding such a thing hard to accept, but to be told that she gave Byleth hope because she would inevitably have to learn to accept? She really could not understand Byleth at times.

“I… should probably go now. I have left Esther alone with Flayn, and no doubt they will get too excited reading stories if I leave them for much longer…” Byleth whispered, hiding her disappointment at not having had the chance to visit the graveyard without anyone else there. Her only comfort was that she was set to be there for the remainder of the week – there would almost definitely be times for her to find a peaceful moment to visit her parents.

Rhea nodded, before looking up towards the sky. “I shall be returning to Zanado tomorrow… I have struggled with these long journeys since the battle in that vile place the Agarthans called their home, so I may not be able to return here again in the future. Please do consider visiting me if you have the opportunity… Catherine also talks of wanting to spar against you at some point. It may not be the wisest of ideas given your current circumstances… But at some point in the future.”

“Tell her I’ll think about it. She should write a letter or two, I’m sure I can find time to respond to her.”

Byleth’s return to the room she was staying in with Esther was fortunately peaceful, but one filled with a variety of conflicting thoughts – she hadn’t been expecting to encounter Rhea, let alone find out that she had already met Esther.

When she finally entered the room, she was unnerved by the darkness and the silence. She moved quickly to use some magic to light the closest candle, before sighing when she realised that her fears had been for nothing. Esther was fast asleep, as was Flayn, who had Esther’s favourite fairy-tale story book open on her lap. She was thankful that she wouldn’t have to worry about getting her to sleep, but now there was a new difficulty – waking up Flayn, or at the very least, returning her to her own room.

Just as she decided to seek out Seteth, and turned towards the door, there was a small whining noise from behind her. “Mama… Mama stay here…” It made her pause, and turn around. Esther’s eyes were open very slightly, and one of her hands were reaching out in her direction.

She hesitated for a moment, before sighing. In the dim light, all that Byleth could see in her daughter was Claude. That was all it took to make her change her mind about looking for Seteth, as just as she could not ignore any requests Claude made, she felt very much the same about Esther.

It took a moment for her to remove her shoes, before sitting down on her own bed and patting beside her. Esther crawled out of her own bed (resulting in Flayn very quickly taking over the freed-up space) before climbing next to her. “I’ll stay here then, as long as you promise to go to sleep, okay?” She received a quick nod in response, before she asked another question as they lay down, and covered Esther with the blankets. “Did you make any friends today?”

“Um…” Esther yawned, and huddled into the blankets for a moment. “Yes… Seteth, Flayn, Annie, and… Rhea. Annie my favourite, she has sweets. And Flayn reads stories…”

Byleth smiled, before putting her arm over her and giving her a gentle hug. “Good… I’m glad you’ve made some friends. I think your Papa will be happy too.” That was followed by Esther closing her eyes, and yawning quietly again. “Good night, Esther… I love you.”

“Love you too, Mama…”


End file.
